Laurent Drousie – Artistic director

Born in 1987 in Tournai, Belgium, Laurent Drousie developed a passion for movement and creativity at an early age. He began dancing at the age of 6 in his hometown. Thanks to his talent and determination, he continued his training at the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet School under the direction of Claude Bessy. He later completed his studies at the Royal Ballet School of Flanders in Antwerp.

Drousie began his professional career dancing with Europa Danse. The following year, he was accepted into the Royal Ballet of Flanders. He then continued his career at the Ballet du Rhin and later at Introdans in the Netherlands.

Throughout his career, Drousie had the privilege of working with many talented and renowned choreographers, such as William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Jirí Kylián, Thierry Malandain, George Balanchine, Hans van Manen, Lucinda Childs, Stijn Celis, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Kurt Jooss, Maurice Béjart, among many others.

As a choreographer, Laurent Drousie created his first piece in 2009, La Ultima. He quickly discovered his passion for choreography and a drive to develop his own personal movement language. Drousie’s captivating work is both physically and emotionally demanding. He encourages his dancers to challenge themselves, experiment within the movement he creates, work with their inner emotions, and let the movement react. His work is unique, energetic, and dynamic—always seeking new ways to approach what he conveys.

“I will always cut a slightly different angle from what you expect or want to see.”

He went on to create L’off in 2011, Lux in 2012, L’Après, Labruyère, Lines in 2013, Lainarc in 2014, L’un différent in 2015, LUX again in 2016, Lust for Life in 2017, La jeune fille et la mort in 2020, Le Da Nude and La Terra Trembla in 2022, The Nutcracker (Casse-Noisette) and Romeo + Juliet in 2023.

Laurent Drousie draws inspiration from all forms of art: a piece of music, an emotion, a story. However, a key element in his creative process is that his work is always rooted in personal experience and emotion. In creation, he seeks to read between the lines and return to the fundamentals.

“I can’t imagine telling a story I haven’t lived myself. I think it’s important to stay true to yourself, to be honest with yourself.”

The other members of the team:

• Workshops: the dancers of the company can enjoy multiple workshops all year round to prepare them for the diversity of motion they will have to perform during their career. This season, we are lucky to have:
  • Howard Quintero Lopez,
  • Ione Miren Aguirre,
  • Nicole Kohlmann,
  • Thierry Guiderdoni.
• Guest teachers: the modern ballet showed by the Junior Ballet is based on a multitude of techniques and differents schools. It is essentiel for the dancers to take the benefit of an education given by world known ballet teachers all year round. Here are the names of our guest for this season:
  • Andrzej Ziemski,
  • Céline Le Grelle,
  • Davide Guarino,
  • Etsuko Sumii,
  • Gary Lecoutre,
  • Gideon Louw,
  • Howard Quintero Lopez,
  • Piotr Nardelli,
  • Stefan Jon Wise,
  • Véronique Descombe.